Widespread Neglect, Abuse Of Orange County Homeless, ACLU Says

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union Thursday claims "widespread neglect and abuse" with regard to Orange County's homeless population.

The ACLU, after interviews with hundreds of residents of the OC Homeless Shelters, say the facilities lack the basics needed for human decency, such as hot water, toilets that work and life without rodent infestation.

The 100-page report is startling in its descriptions, including the hand-written cover page which describes such conditions as standing water, black mold, lack of resources such as soap or towels. According to the writers, the report was based on "first person visits and over 70 interviews with residents of the Courtyard, SAFEPlace, Bridges at Kraemer Place.

A response by an attorney representing a class of Orange County's homeless in a federal lawsuit said many of the problems cited in the ACLU report are being addressed in the litigation.

"I don't think anyone, including the county, disputes a lot of the problems with the shelters," said attorney Brooke Weitzman. "Fortunately that was part of our lawsuit... As we get closer to settling with the county most of the suggestions are in progress and being implemented."

A year-long investigation presented by the ACLU shows "toxic and unsafe conditions" in three shelters -- the Courtyard in downtown Santa Ana, SAFEPlace in Santa Ana and Bridges at Kraemer Place in Anaheim.

That report alleges such horrific conditions as too few toilets, broken toilets that went unrepaired for months and "raw sewage flowing from porta-potties."

The ACLU also reported showers without temperature control, rodent and insect infestations, a shortage of soap, lack of heat during the winter and flooding during rainstorms.

The ACLU also alleged rampant sexual harassment of female transients from male staffers with some offering "special treatment in exchange for sex."

The ACLU said the report came out of visits to the shelters as well as interviews with about 70 residents, staffers, and volunteers at the three shelters.

"The county of Orange is committed to ensuring our emergency shelters are safe for all our clients," said Molly Nichelson, a spokeswoman for the county.

"Each emergency shelter has its own provider and complaint process," Nichelson added. "We work to ensure valid complaints are addressed by our service providers in a timely fashion. We will take the time to review the report and will respond to it accordingly."

Weitzman said the attorneys involved in the federal lawsuit, which was filed initially to block enforcement of anti-camping laws until the county could show it had adequate shelter space, are working on rules related to evictions of any transients as well as accommodating disabilities.

"The results (of the ACLU report) showed some of the things we put in the (federal) complaint," Weitzman said.

Both sides agreed quickly with U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that it was preferable to get the shelters up and running first and then to shift gears toward fine-tuning conditions, Weitzman said.

"Of course, there's always value in information and transparency. It's great they were able to do this report," Weitzman said. "But over the past year under the litigation cities and counties have scrambled to open something as fast as they can so people don't die on the street. We do need to implement those policies, but we needed to get them opened first and then come back and say OK what are the things we need to have in place in terms of due process, accommodations for the disabled, and training (of staff)."

According to supervisor Andrew DO, there is still a great deal to be done, but "we are serving the national model on what we can achieve regarding homelessness," he said over Twitter.

"While many other counties try to take on the issue of homelessness, Orange County has made great strides," Do said.

According to Do, over $189 million has been earmarked for homeless services, including building a new shelter in Santa Ana.

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